Welcome to the Rainbow City Public Utilities Department! We strive to provide quality and professional public services to the citizens of Rainbow City, in a manner that exemplifies the Department's determination to succeed. Steven Chaviers, Superintendent. (Click Here for Current Rates)

Rainbow City Plans $14 Million Wastewater Treatment Plant

A new $14.8 million wastewater treatment plant for Rainbow City will be partially funded by a proposed 5 mill ad valorem tax, city officials said Monday. The Rainbow City Council has agreed to pay half the cost of the facility that will more than triple the capacity of the city's lagoon wastewater treatment system, Mayor Terry John Calhoun said. Calhoun said the city will earmark revenues from the millage increase to help pay for the new facility. Leftover funds will be used for future sewer expansion. Calhoun said all the debt will be Utility Board debt and will not affect the city's debt. The City Council is pledging money to retire the bonds issued by the board.

“We’ve got some people that are hurting for sewer in Rainbow City,” Calhoun said. He said the council hopes sewer service eventually can be expanded to all Rainbow City residents, and to help future commercial growth along Alabama Highway 77. The ad valorem increase, which has not been approved by the council, would add $50 in taxes for every $100,000 of home value.

The council on Dec. 10 approved participating in half the funding for the wastewater treatment, Calhoun said, but did not specify a funding source at that time. Chairwoman Debbie Hiltz said the Utility Board plans two bond issues for construction of the plant. One was done last year and the second will be issued next month. Including design and construction, the plant will take two-and-a-half to three years to complete. Hiltz said the board met with the council in December seeking help to fund the project, because it would not be able to do so without the city’s assistance.The board's portion of the funding will come from passing along water rate increases by the city of Gadsden for its customers and the other cities and water authorities it sells to.

Those rate increases, which began in 2010, included three annual 11 percent increases, followed by increases of 7 and 5 percent, to finance an upgrade to Gadsden's water treatment and wastewater treatment facilities. Hiltz said the board did not anticipate any additional rate increases. Sewer rates are based on water usage. Calhoun said the new facility is needed for the city's continued growth. “If this hadn't been done, I think it would have stunted the growth of Rainbow City,” he said. Calhoun said it would have been bad to have a business locate there and not to be able to have sewer service. “We haven't reached that point yet, thank goodness, and we sure don’t want to get to that point,” he said. Hiltz said the board also didn't want to be unable to provide services.

Calhoun said Rainbow City is the only city in the county that does not collect an ad valorem tax. He said the new tax could be instituted by a vote of the City Council, without legislative approval, and would need to be approved by May 1 to be collected beginning Oct. 1. Utility board members said they had been working on plans for a waste water treatment plant since 2010 and said in July they received a warning that the current treatment facility was not meeting reporting limits in the permit. “We knew we were going to have to come up with some ideas, and we started making plans,” Hiltz said. The current facility is built to handle about 740,000 gallons of waste a day, but is handling about 1 million gallons a day. Engineer Chris Cousins said the board is working with the Alabama Department of Environmental management and has notified the department of its plans.

Cousins said the new plant will have a capacity of about 3 million gallons of wastewater a day, which should handle growth for 30 years and could be expanded as well. Grant money was not available for the project, Hiltz said. Cousins said design work will take about a year to complete, and construction will take 18 months to two years. The city has 2,032 sewer customers, about half the number of its water customers. Board members said teaming with Gadsden for a new wastewater treatment facility was not economically feasible.

By Andy Powell, Gadsden Times Staff Writer, - Published: Jan 28, 2013

Radio Read Water Meters

Rainbow City Utilities Board entered into an agreement with Central Plant Technology, Inc., of Headland, Alabama to replace all commercial and residential water meters.

Hersey Radio Head Meters are used on all water applications. The meters are read by computer, (without stopping) as the meter reader drives by the residence or business. The readings are downloaded to computer and establish the amount to bill. Prior to this solution, individual readings had to be punched in. Training on the meters and system was furnished by Hersey Radio Head Meters.

The Utilities Board of the City of Rainbow City, Alabama is committed to providing safe and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to the Rainbow City Community. Our goal is to deliver these essential services in a manner that is safe, reliable, prompt, efficient, courteous and sensitive to the needs of our customers.

The Utilities Board reads each meter monthly. Bills are mailed on the last working day of each month. The current charges are due upon receipt and become delinquent after the 20th of the month. A 15% penalty will be added to the delinquent amount. The due date applies to the current charges and not the delinquent amount.

Water Service will be disconnected if the delinquent amount is not paid by the second Tuesday of the month. Cut-off will be the second Wednesday of each month. No further notice will be sent.

No reconnection after normal business hours. Failure to receive a bill does not relieve obligation to pay.

*** SPECIAL NOTICE ***

Effective August 2011, The Utilities Board of Rainbow City will no longer mail cut-off notices to our customers

You have several options of how to pay your bill.

In person at our office located in the Rainbow City Municipal Building at 3700 Rainbow Drive. Payments may be made by cash, check or money order.

The drive-thru window is for bill payments only. You must have the bill in order to pay at the drive-thru window.

You may also pay your bill by dropping it into the Night Deposit Box located next to the drive-thru window. This box is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

We also offer automatic bank draft. Accounts are drafted on the 15th of each month. If the 15th falls on a week-end or holiday, your account will be drafted the following business day.

SPECIAL NOTICE

The Utilities Board of the City of Rainbow City is now offering Automatic Bank Draft. This is a free service. If you are interested in the service, please come by the Business Office and pick up an authorization form. If you are unable to come by the Business Office, please call (256) 442-2553 and request an authorization form be mailed to you; or you may print this form below:

Water, sewer and garbage are billed in arrears. Service periods are printed on your bill, so you can see when your meter is actually read. Meter deposits are held by the Board until customers leave the system at which time the meter deposit will be applied to the final bill.

Sewer Billing

Sewer is defined as water that goes down your drains. Since there is no way to meter this, your sewer charge is based on your water consumption.Transfer of Service

A customer's deposit may be transferred from one address to another. The customer is required to come to The Utilities Board Office, request that the service be disconnected at the old location. Service can overlap for 30 days only. Any remaining balance on the old account and a $15.00 transfer fee must be paid at the time of transfer.

High Bills

All Water meters are read every month. This is how your consumption is calculated. If the usage is unusually high, it will appear on the high usage report. The readings will be checked once again for accuracy. If the reading is correct, a yellow courtesy notice will be hung on your door. If you receive a courtesy notice from The Utilities Board, you should investigate to find the possible cause for the excess water usage. Check for dripping faucets, running toilets, or possible breaks in the water line and have any leaks repaired. There is one way to definitely determine if you have a leak. Be sure all water in the house is turned off. Go to the street and lift the lid on your meter. If the meter is running, you have a leak and should call 442-2553 immediately. The Utilities Board of the city of Rainbow City is not responsible for any repairs beyond the maintenance of your meter, however we will assist you in any way we can to determine the problem.

The Utilities Booth at the Rainbow City 2014 Chocolate Festival was again a great success. We had over 700 entries for the $50, $30, and $20 gift cards given away. Everyone appeared to enjoy the festivities and all the free chocolate candy. Thanks to Rainbow City for a great day!

The Utilities Booth at the Chocolate Festival is pictured below.

Gold Risk Management Award 2014

The Utilities Board of Rainbow City was again awarded the Gold Risk Management award for 2014. This award is given by the Municipal Worker's Compensation Fund (MWCF) and the Alabama Municipal Insurance (AMIC) for a Loss Ratio below 5%. We have received this award for eight consecutive years.

Due to our employees efforts, property and liability losses are minimized but most importantly employees and citizens reap the rewards of a safer workplace and community.

The members of the Board wish to thank our employees for their dedication and making safety a priority. Through your service, the Rainbow City Utilities Board is strengthened in a progressive and responsible fashion.